NTT Pays $27.5M For Pair Of Suburban Office Buildings

A prolific data center developer has snagged a pair of office properties, spanning more than 12 acres, west of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Japan-based NTT Global Data Centers recently paid $27.5 million for the buildings at 1200 and 1250 North Arlington Heights Road in Itasca, northwest of downtown Chicago, CoStar reported.

NTT plans to demolish the buildings, which span and replace them with cloud data storage facilities, as part of its broader plan to build a suburban corporate park called Hamilton Lakes.

The acquisition is reflective of a growing trend in which developers repurpose vacant or underutilized office properties, responding to the historically low demand for traditional office space nationwide. A handful of developers are also converting existing structures to accommodate the increasing demand for data storage.

NTT Global Data Centers, a key player in the booming data center sector, is part of the Tokyo-based telecom giant NTT. The company has been steadily expanding its footprint in the area, having already purchased a nearby site from Hamilton Partners while working to add a second data center, the outlet reported.

In a similar move, Compass Datacenters acquired the former Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates for $194 million in September, aiming to replace it with advanced data storage facilities.

Chicago, recognized as one of the largest data center markets in the country, continues to attract such developments due to its advantageous infrastructure, including reliable power, fiber optic connectivity, tax incentives and a relatively low risk of natural disasters. As data centers become crucial in supporting a surge in online activities such as streaming, e-commerce and data storage, NTT’s Itasca acquisition contributes to Chicagoland’s emergence as a hub for data storage solutions.

—Quinn Donoghue